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EPC Plenary Meeting Update

EPC Plenary Meeting Update

Credit Transfer and
Direct Debit Rulebooks: next scheme change management cycle takes place in 2014. The rulebooks to be published in November 2014 will take effect in November 2015.

In November 2012, the European Payments Council (
) published the
Credit Transfer (
) Rulebook version 7.0, the
Direct Debit (
) Core Rulebook version 7.0 and the
Business to Business (B2B) Rulebook version 5.0 (for more information, see the
Blog of 30 November 2012 included with the 'related links' below). Based on the established release management cycle, the updated versions of the rulebooks published in November 2012, would normally take effect on 16 November 2013. Stakeholders in the euro area however, are currently working towards achieving compliance with the 'Regulation (
) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro' (see 'related links' below). This legislative act is commonly referenced as the Single Euro Payments Area (
) Regulation. It defines 1 February 2014 as the deadline in the euro area for compliance with the core provisions of this Regulation. As a result, and as previously communicated, the
decided in June 2012 to postpone the effective date for the
Rulebook version 7.0, the
Core Rulebook version 7.0, the
B2B Rulebook version 5.0 and associated implementation guidelines (
), from 16 November 2013 to 1 February 2014. Ordinarily, the
publishes updated versions of the rulebooks once annually, in November of each year. These updated versions then usually take effect in the third week of November of the following year. To avoid duplication of costs and efforts within one year and to provide planning security to all stakeholders based on stable rulebook versions in the period following migration to
and
in the euro area, the Plenary decided in December 2012 to postpone publication of the next generation rulebooks to November 2014. These rulebook versions (
Rulebook version 8.0,
Core Rulebook version 8.0,
B2B Rulebook version 6.0 and associated
) will then take effect in November 2015. For detailed information, refer to the article '
and
: the Next Generation Rulebooks Will be Published in November 2014 to Take Effect in November 2015. The process leading to the publication of new rulebook versions will roll out at the start of 2014' (see 'related articles in this issue' below).

In December 2012 the Plenary approved publication of a clarification paper (the paper), which addresses operational aspects related to the
and
Schemes. The paper seeks to ensure consistent implementation of the
and
Rulebooks by payment service providers participating in the schemes. The paper provides guidance and, where feasible, recommendations to scheme participants on how to handle situations that are not as such described in the rulebooks. It covers the following aspects: character set, pre-notification, sequence types for
collections, R-transactions (refunds, returns, rejects, reversals, revocations, requests for cancellation) and currency conversion. A link to the paper, which will be updated from time to time as required, is included at the end of this article. For detailed information, refer to the article '
Addresses Operational Aspects Relevant to Payment Service Providers Participating in the
and
Schemes. The newly issued clarification paper seeks to ensure consistent implementation of the schemes across
' (see 'related articles in this issue' below).

launches a request for proposal: standards solution provider to facilitate the development, publication and maintenance of the
's

The Plenary approved launching a request for proposal (RFP) process seeking proposals from standards solution providers to support the development, publication and maintenance of the
released by the
. These
are related to the
and
Rulebooks. This RFP was published on the
Website on 14 January 2013. Submissions should reach the
by 11 February 2013. For more information and to download the RFP, refer to the 'related links' below.

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In this article

The Plenary is the decision-making body of the European Payments Council (
). In this article, Javier Santamaría, Chair of the
, summarises the main items agreed in the
Plenary meeting, which took place in December 2012. The
normally publishes updated versions of the
Credit Transfer (
) and
Direct Debit (
) Rulebooks once annually in November of each year. Considering that the
and
Rulebooks published in November 2012 will take effect on 1 February 2014, the
Plenary decided to postpone publication of new rulebook versions to November 2014. These rulebook versions will then take effect in November 2015. The Plenary approved the new
document 'Clarification Paper:
Credit Transfer and
Direct Debit', which addresses operational aspects relevant to payment service providers participating in the schemes. It also approved launching a request for proposal process, seeking submissions from standards solution providers to facilitate the development, publication and maintenance of the
's implementation guidelines related to the
and
Schemes.

Key Information in this Article

Main items agreed by the European Payments Council (
) Plenary in December 2012:

Updated versions of the
Credit Transfer (
) and
Direct Debit (
) Rulebooks and associated implementation guidelines (
) will next be published in November 2014. These rulebook versions (
Rulebook version 8.0,
Core Rulebook version 8.0, and
Business to Business Rulebook version 6.0) will take effect in November 2015.

The new
document ‘Clarification Paper:
Credit Transfer and
Direct Debit’, was approved for publication on the
Website. A link to this document is included at the end of this article.

The request for proposal process (RFP) seeking submissions from standards solution providers to facilitate the development, publication and maintenance of the
’s
related to the
and
Schemes, was published on the
Website on 14 January 2013. Submissions are invited by 11 February 2013. A link to the RFP is included at the end of this article.

Javier Santamaría

Chair of the European Payments Council

Javier Santamaría is the Chair of the
since June 2012, and has been one of its members since its creation in 2002. During decades as a bank employee, Mr Santamaría accumulated a broad and balanced expertise in the intertwined dimensions of payments – business-related, operational, technical – across different client segments and product lines, in the legacy and the innovative spheres, which he now further develops as an independent self-employed professional. He has been immersed in both cooperative and competitive environments. Besides payments, he is interested in other banking fields and continues to be actively engaged in academic matters. Mr Santamaría is also Chair of the Iberpay Board. Former Head of Operations and Business Services, he was Senior Vice President at Banco Santander until December 2016. He was a member of the Board of the Euro Banking Association and a Director of the SWIFT Board until the end of 2016.